Colloid

Colloids, or colloidal dispersions, are things sort of intermediate between true solutions and mixtures, or suspensions: things where microscopic globs of one substance, said to be in the dispersed phase (solute phase), are distributed throughout another, said to be in the dispersing phase (continuous phase, solvent phase).

Colloids can be classified as follows:

		Dispersed Phase
		Gas	Liquid	Solid
Dispersing Phase	Gas	-	[Liquid Aerosol]?, e.g.: fog, mist	[Solid Aerosol]?, e.g.: smoke, dust
	Liquid	Foam?, e.g.: whipped cream	Emulsion, e.g.: milk, mayonnaise, hand cream	Sol, e.g.: paint, ink
	Solid	[Solid Foam]?, e.g.: styrofoam	Gel?, e.g.: gelatin, jelly, cheese	[Solid Sol]?, e.g.: ruby glass